Influence Of Ink Colour On Memory Retention

[Snamellit]

Hi,

 

My youngest daughter came to me and told me:

 

"Dad, I found a mind-hack : If I write my notes with blue ink I can remember them better than with black ink".

 

(I've been teaching her some mindhacks to keep her attention from drifting off during studying and to make her aware that she has at least some influence over her brain).

 

This got me thinking, it makes sense that coloured information retains better. I even gave the advice to write the stem of latin words in one color and the extension, so the contrast would help the brain see the pattern. I did not think that the color itself would have impact.

 

Some googling turned up some papers where they've measured that indeed colour seems to have some impact with these and these statistical significance, but that more study is needed. (There must be some academic fill-in the blanks paper template used by everyone out there).

 

So I turn to the wisdom of the inkiest experts. What are the best colours? Is it more the combination or contrast, or are some colours better than others? Is there literature out there?

 

thanks,

 

Peter

[Old_Inkyhand]

I'm not an expert, but I've read somewhere that the green paper (!) actually helps and that people memorize highlighted words better, if the highlighter had a warm colour. But it can be just a guess.

 

I like to use subtle colours like dark grey to write the majority of the text and use some bolder colours, like garnet, to write the most important pieces of information. It looks quite elegant and helps me to find the crucial notes.

[erpe]

Interesting question. I'm not sure about the memory thingy but I think to have noticed for quite a while, like several decades, that writing with royal blue on bright white Oxford paper (for example) makes me write a bit more to the point or business-like while writing with a stub and a nice browny ink on off-white G. Lalo or Crown Mill makes my writing a bit more classic, sort of more "literary" if you want.
So, there seems to be a bit of a relation between the hand and the senses in that area.

[katanankes]

I did a rapid research on academic journals. Actually there are a LOT of studies researching the connection between color and memory retention. Unfortunately there is really little agreement. Also, in most studies what is varied is the background, not the lettering.

See for example

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3743993/

 

So, yes, you are definetely onto something.

 

By skimming a couple of these papers, they all seem to postulate that color may enhance memory retentation by triggering arousal. Arousal is linked to memory retention, there seem to be consensus on this point. So, if the colors that you are using trigger some sort of cognitive arousal, then it would make sense that they can enhance recall. And it would make sense that there was some individual variability.

[visvamitra]

What a cool topic From my personnal experience - when I make notes that I really need I use purple or yellowish green (Souraken Tea Green). When I write something more serious it's always one of this two colors, sometimes some nice red.

 

@inkyhand - dark grey and garnet seems very elegant. Great combo Would you share the names of the inks you use?

Edited June 19, 2016 by visvamitra

[Old_Inkyhand]

@inkyhand - dark grey and garnet seems very elegant. Great combo Would you share the names of the inks you use?

Thanks! My grey is Graf von Faber Castell Stone Grey for a few reasons. First of all, it performs really great in my Carene and its shading is very pleasant. It is saturated enough to be easily legible* and doesn't contain any blue, what makes it a real, rather stone grey. Being on the warm side of the spectrum, it really looks great with warm and bold colours, like garnet or orange. I use it with Montblanc Purple sometimes, as well as with GvFC Moss Green.

 

The garnet ink? I have used Graf von Faber Castell Garnet Red, but I didn't like it very much (it was flat and boring, the only pen in which it revealed some character was Waterman Perspective). Now I use Sailor Oku-Yama.

 

I must admit that while I didn't like the Garnet Red itself, it looked very nice in the company of Stone.

 

*I know that you know

[Cataleya]

I like this topic!

For my reviews of courses I write the whole stuff in a carefully chosen notebook. With Salix or blueblack for the text and my favourite red (CdA sunset) the important formulae.

Technical drawings and diagrams are more colourful.

 

In retrospect of my last exams, there really is a connection between use of colours and memorizing. But in my case, it is one part contrast (like Salix/red above) and one part the different colours used while reviewing.

I had to draw one of the diagrams in the exam and remembered "there was another green line on top of the lilac one"...for example.

 

Looking forward to the first ink helping you (scientifically proven) memorizing things. Hopefully a teal colour. :D

[jmccarty3]

This could lead to some fun experiments, but I imagine there would be too much variation between people to lead to any firm conclusions about the "best" color. I say go for it, especially if you have free graduate student labor for cleaning the pens!

[Snamellit]

From what I understand of recollection is that having more context leads to better chance of retrieving that memory you need.

 

Apparently there is a lot of circumstancial evidence and studies confirming color matters.

 

I doubt the members here are a representative sample of the population as we probably remember the ink, the pen, the paper of the notes before the content, which might actually help with retrieval.

[amberleadavis]

There is a series of studies about color and a method for helping those with color sensitivity (I think). It is here: http://irlen.com/ It is not what you asked about, it's sort of the opposite, but I thought you might find it interesting.

[FOUR X FOUR]

From what I understand of recollection is that having more context leads to better chance of retrieving that memory you need.

 

Apparently there is a lot of circumstancial evidence and studies confirming color matters.

 

I doubt the members here are a representative sample of the population as we probably remember the ink, the pen, the paper of the notes before the content, which might actually help with retrieval.

I applaud you for being such a hands on dad👍👍👍👍👍

[inkspot]

As a cognitive neuroscientist researching attention and real-world interaction, I couldn't help but be interested in this topic. It is true that people do recall information better when it is written in different colours, but it has more to do with novelty and adding a unique attribute to the information than the actual colour used.

 

We are used to reading black text on white pages through word processors and most internet sites. The appearance of blue ink adds a level of novelty to the writing, making the text written in the less-viewed colour more salient or memorable. If you write notes with orange, pink, green, or any other colour that you do not usually read, the novelty of that colour will help to tag the information you are writing with an additional cue or hint to help you retrieve the information from memory.

 

If you keep writing in the same colour, the ability to recall the information written based on the ink colour will begin to fade as it becomes more routine and less novel.

 

A study tip I give to my students is to colour code notes to help with recall - similar to your idea of writing latin roots in one colour and the stem in another. E.G. definitions in green, people's names in blue, experiments in pink, etc. Then, when asked to recall a definition on a test, they have the additional cue of the colour green to help retrieve the information.

 

-End soapbox rant-

[amberleadavis]

Thank you for that explanation.

[wallylynn]

when schools switched from blackboads to green boards, I was told this was the reason.

[Morphling27]

As a cognitive neuroscientist researching attention and real-world interaction, I couldn't help but be interested in this topic. It is true that people do recall information better when it is written in different colours, but it has more to do with novelty and adding a unique attribute to the information than the actual colour used.

 

We are used to reading black text on white pages through word processors and most internet sites. The appearance of blue ink adds a level of novelty to the writing, making the text written in the less-viewed colour more salient or memorable. If you write notes with orange, pink, green, or any other colour that you do not usually read, the novelty of that colour will help to tag the information you are writing with an additional cue or hint to help you retrieve the information from memory.

 

If you keep writing in the same colour, the ability to recall the information written based on the ink colour will begin to fade as it becomes more routine and less novel.

 

A study tip I give to my students is to colour code notes to help with recall - similar to your idea of writing latin roots in one colour and the stem in another. E.G. definitions in green, people's names in blue, experiments in pink, etc. Then, when asked to recall a definition on a test, they have the additional cue of the colour green to help retrieve the information.

 

-End soapbox rant-

 

Your extensive background and knowledge of this subject is appreciated, but I don't think any of us here have tried the 1,000s of possible ink colors available to really, truly tell if/what color may help.

 

This will be my excuse to buy more ink. I mean, if you use a handful of colors to help remember notes, using sub-shades to get even finer detail will help more, right?!

[Willis]

I've heard of authors using different colors for different characters. I could see this really helping define characters' personalities.

[Runnin_Ute]

inkspot - What you say makes a lot of sense. Use blue all the time, throw in a little red or green or something else and it acts like a "hook" on a line. At least if I am understanding what you are saying correctly. Because the color you have introduced is different from the bulk of the text. Regardless of what the bulk of the text is written in.

[max dog]

This is an interesting topic.

 

I have read of people alternating ink colors each day to differentiate one day from another. I wonder if this could help with that novelty factor and memory retention.

 

Or maybe 7 different pens with different color for each day of the week? Excuse to buy more inks.

[Helen350]

Fascinating topic on the dynamics of the human mind as it relates to how color impacts memory retention. I have always found writing with black ink as "irritating" visually. Blues were more visually soothing. Never did understand why I had this type of response. I currently do not own even one bottle of black ink to use in any of my pens, and the only blue/black is a bottle of Montblanc.

[johniem]

This topic reminds me of a note taking technique called "mind mapping". Mind Mapping called for using many colors as well as graphics. As I remember it, the value of any particular color was its contrast to colors used in other topics. The colors and graphics reinforced the ability to recall a topic. The reference I can remember using was written by Tony Buzan and I actually had the privilege of attending a seminar led by him. It was a long time ago. Maybe I should review the subject.